


Dinner on Air Temple Island

by Cassandra14



Series: Two Universes Over [16]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26075722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassandra14/pseuds/Cassandra14
Summary: When Korra said her guardians wanted to meet them before giving Korra permission to join the Fire Ferrets permanently, Bolin and Mako didn't think they'd be sitting down to dinner with arguably the most important family in Republic City.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Tenzin
Series: Two Universes Over [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/61893
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Dinner on Air Temple Island

Arriving at the wharf, Bolin and Mako scanned their surroundings.

"Do you see her?" asked Bolin.

"Not yet."

"I wonder where she lives."

"Don't you think it's a bit strange that we don't know, well, much of anything about her?" Mako demanded. "I mean she shows up and -"

"Really, Mako, she's just a girl who helped us out of a tight spot. Nothing you need to worry about," Bolin said. "Even you admitted she was amazing last night."

"I didn't say that."

"Maybe not in those words..."

"Bolin! Mako!"

The brothers twisted around. Striding towards them, Korra called, "Hey! Over here!"

"Hey, Korra," replied Bolin as she joined them.

"I'm glad my message didn't get lost," Korra said. "Thanks for coming."

"So we _are_ going to be meeting your guardians?" checked Mako.

"Yeah, that's what the message was? Why wouldn't you be?"

"Never mind," Mako said. He gestured towards the city. "Which way?"

Korra pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the ferry. "That way."

"What?" "Huh?"

With a nervous smile and shrug, Korra explained, "I live on Air Temple Island."

"You live on…" Mako trailed off.

"Air Temple Island," repeated Korra.

"But you're not a monk - nun - acolyte," said Bolin. "How could you do probending - I thought -

"I'm not an acolyte. I'm just staying with...I studied with Master Katara and when I wanted to come to Republic City, I sort of came to live with her family here," confessed Korra.

Mako held up a hand. He demanded, "Wait a minute - with her family? You mean _Councilman Tenzin_ and _Chief Beifong_?"

"Yes?"

Bolin gaped; Mako frowned.

Seeing this, Korra rushed to reassure, "They're actually pretty cool. I mean Sora is the sweetest person you'll ever meet and Akira is fun and you've already met Rohan. And Tenzin said he thinks me being on your team will be good."

"Woah - Rohan is one of their kids?" asked Bolin. "Does that mean he's an Airbender, but no he was dressed in Earth -"

"He's an Airbender," interjected Korra.

"I don't think this is a good idea," stated Mako. "We're - Bolin and I - we have records. We lived on the streets and sometimes, we had to do things to survive, illegal things. Your guardians aren't going to approve of us."

"You don't know that," countered Korra. "Did you do anything really bad? Hurt someone?"

"Only when they attacked us first and we always just tried to get away," replied Mako.

"Okay. Then you didn't do anything really wrong, right? Just what you had to," Korra said. "Please come with me. If you don't, my guardians won't allow me to join the team. You might as well take the chance. At least, you'll get dinner out of it."

"Give us a second," said Mako, drawing Bolin back with him a few feet.

"I think we should go," Bolin said.

"What if they decide we're just common criminals? This is _Chief_ _Beifong_ and _Councilman_ _Tenzin_ , not some random parents."

"We won't be arrested, Mako. Also we kind of don't have another option besides Korra. Plus, free food."

Mako considered for a beat before conceding, "All right. We'll go. But we have to be on our best behavior. No goofing around."

"Got it."

The brothers returned to Korra. Mako said, "We're going."

"It'll be fine, I promise," declared Korra. She led them onto the ferry and it pushed off.

Halfway there, Bolin broke the silence by asking, "What's it like, living in an Air Temple?"

"Quiet, mostly. Calm," replied Korra. "Sometimes boring."

Bolin's face scrunched up, nose wrinkling and eyes squinting.

"What are you doing?" asked Korra.

"I'm trying to picture Chief Beifong and Councilman Tenzin at home," Bolin informed her. "Whenever I see their pictures in the papers they always look so formal." He sighed and relaxed. "Nope. Can't do it."

"If you trained with Master Katara, does that mean you're also a healer?" asked Mako.

"I am."

"That would be handy," Mako mused.

"No more bruises after practices and matches," added Bolin.

The ferry slowed. Mako straightened his jacket before brushing a speck of dirt off Bolin's.

The trio hopped off the ferry and ascended to the main Temple. Rohan met them as they crossed the courtyard to the family quarters.

"Hello, Bolin, Mako, welcome to Air Temple Island," offered Rohan with a broad grin.

"Thank you for inviting us," said Mako.

"Hey, my father insisted upon it if Korra's going to be a Fire Ferret," said Rohan. "Let's go on inside."

Korra and the brothers followed him to the family room.

"Oh, you are cute," were the first words out of Akira's mouth, directed at Mako who froze. "Newspaper pictures can be so unreliable."

"Ah...thanks?" ventured Mako as his brother, Korra, and Rohan sniggered.

"You're welcome," replied Akira with an amused glint in her eyes. "Dad just stopped by. He said dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"This is my sister, Akira," Rohan said. "Akira, these are Mako and Bolin, Korra's new teammates."

"I know who they are," Akira retorted. "My second best friend is obsessed. She's cut out pictures from the newspaper and stuck them inside all her notebooks."

Mako looked vaguely disturbed by this. Bolin looked pleased.

"Korra, why don't you show our guests to the washroom so they can clean up for dinner?" suggested Rohan.

Korra, Mako, and Bolin did as she proposed. When they returned, Korra and Bolin talked Probending with Rohan while Mako brooded and Akira finished her homework.

A few minutes later, Tam entered and announced, "Dinner's ready."

"Good. I'm hungry," declared Rohan. "Mako, Bolin, meet my youngest sister, Tam."

Bolin came forward hand extended, realized what her clouded eyes meant, and dropped his hand. He said, "Hello, I'm Bolin."

"I could see that," snapped Tam. She held out her hand.

"Um...sorry." They shook.

Tam hmphed. "Don't make assumptions."

"Let's go on," suggested Akira, linking arms with her twin and leading the way.

When they walked into the dining room, Tenzin approached the brothers as his kids took seats.

"Mako, Bolin, it's good to meet you," said Tenzin. He bowed fluidly in the Air Nomad greeting.

"Thank you for the invitation, sir," replied Mako. Bolin and he bowed, stiff and awkward from lack of practice.

"You have a very nice home," offered Bolin nervously.

"Thank you."

When his wife appeared at the Councilman's shoulder, Bolin gulped. Tenzin smiled and said, "May I introduce my wife, Chief Lin Beifong?"

"It's an honor, ma'am," Mako said. A combination of awe and anxiety stilled Bolin's tongue; he could only bob his head.

Lin offered Mako her hand, then Bolin. In a ominous tone, she declared, "I look forward to getting to know the two of you this evening."

Tenzin said, "Please sit. You're between Rohan and Korra."

As they sat, Rohan muttered, "Don't worry."

"Worry?" repeated Bolin, tongue loosening.

"Mom hasn't chucked anyone into the bay in years," he finished solemnly. At the panicked expressions, Rohan winked and laughed. After a beat and somewhat nervously, Bolin laughed with him.

"Not since Uncle Bumi and we were on the beach so it was just a few yards," added Akira from beyond Korra. She unfolded her napkin and laid it daintily across her lap.

"Everyone please help yourself," announced Tenzin. The serving dishes circulated the table. Mako and Bolin filled their plates with rice pilaf, fresh vegetables, a bean casserole, and a fillet of salmon-trout the inclusion of which surprised them as did Rohan taking some.

"Aren't Air Acolytes vegetarian?" blurted Bolin to Rohan.

"They are. I'm not an acolyte," replied Rohan. "So I don't have to follow those rules."

"But you're an Airbender? Don't you have to be an acolyte?" asked Bolin, curiosity overcoming nerves.

"Not if I don't want to. I haven't decided one way or the other," Rohan answered.

"If you don't mind, could you tell us a little about yourselves?" requested Tenzin when the brothers had taken a few bites.

"What do you want to know?" asked Mako. His mouth tightened as he considered the probability of being asked about his parents or childhood on the streets. Bolin shoved a carrot around on his plate.

"Whatever you'd like to tell us. Perhaps start with how you came to Pro-bending and formed your team?" Tenzin suggested. Mako and Bolin relaxed, grateful for the innocuous topic.

"We started competing a couple of years ago and, as we won more, we got invited to bigger and better tournaments. We worked our way up," Mako answered. "This is our first shot at the Championship."

"We couldn't have done it without Korra," added Bolin. "We would have been disqualified."

"I know. I understand your former Waterbender left you right before the match?"

"Yes, he did," said Mako.

"Why?" asked Lin.

"We weren't getting along," stated Mako.

She demanded, "Why not?"

"When we made it big, he and me had different ideas about strategy. We fought. He refused to come round. He left," Mako said firmly.

Tenzin laid a hand on Lin's wrist to forestall further questioning. He asked, "Where did you come up with the name 'Fire Ferrets'?"

"It's from Pabu," said Bolin.

"Who or what is Pabu?"

"Pabu is my - our - fire ferret. He's sort of our mascot," Bolin said.

"Am I going to meet him?" inquired Korra. She glanced at Tenzin and Lin. "Assuming I'm allowed on the team."

"You will. He lives in the apartment," explained Bolin. "He's really friendly. Loves to be petted."

"Cool." Korra grinned. "After dinner, I can take you to meet Naga."

"Who's Naga?" asked Bolin.

"My polar-bear dog and my best friend," replied Korra.

"You have a polar-bear dog as a best friend?" Mako asked, incredulous. "Aren't those really dangerous?"

"Yes, I do," retorted Korra, "And Naga isn't dangerous. I trained her myself. She's living in the sky bison caves right now."

"Could we meet a sky bison too?" pleaded Bolin, excited at the possibility of seeing one of the near mythical creatures up close. He checked himself and murmured, "Sorry."

"No problem," Rohan assured him. "You can meet Dragon. He loves people."

"Dragon?" repeated Bolin.

"My sky bison," Rohan clarified.

"Winning last night's match means you're in the Championship tournament right?" asked Akira.

"It does," answered Mako.

"When does the tournament start?" she asked.

"Two weeks. It gives all the teams a chance to rest and prepare," Mako replied. "Which is good for us as we will need that time to train with a new teammate - whoever it is. We would like it to be Korra."

"Do you have any other options?" inquired Lin.

"Not that we know of," Mako replied.

"Why not? Surely there's someone, besides Korra, who would like to be part of your team, especially now. Why go with someone you barely know?"

"Everyone else good is already on a team," Mako said. "The ones who aren't, there are reasons they're not. Korra helped us out last night; we would have lost without her."

Korra felt her cheeks redden. Mako gave her a subdued smile which produced a grin from her.

"And you believe you can get her up to speed in two weeks?" Lin asked.

"If we practice hard, yes," replied Mako. Lin regarded him for a moment. He met her gaze evenly.

Lin turned to Bolin and asked, "Where did you learn Earthbending?"

"Here and there," Bolin said with a one-shoulder shrug.

"Interesting," Lin commented.

Bolin wanted to ask what she meant, but was far too intimidated to question her. He took a bite of casserole instead.

"When was the first time you Earthbent?" asked Akira of Bolin.

From there, the conversation mainly flowed between the teenagers with the exception of Tam who didn't seem to care about their visitors one way or the other.

At the end of dinner, Tenzin and Lin rose.

"Mako, Bolin, Lin and I would like to speak with you alone," he said. Addressing the teenagers, he instructed, "Children, Korra, would you please clean the table and do the dishes. We'll be in the family room when you're done."

The brothers followed Tenzin and Lin to the family room. Indicating a sofa opposite two armchairs, Tenzin said, "Please, have a seat. We have a few more questions we'd like to ask before we decide whether or not to approve Korra joining your team."

The four sat, Mako and Bolin on the sofa, and Tenzin and Lin in the armchairs. When Tenzin glanced at her, Lin gestured that for him to start. He cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry if these questions are personal, but we do need to ask them. Korra's safety and her wellbeing is our responsibility," he explained.

"With all due respect, sir, m'am, she is an adult," protested Mako. "Shouldn't it be her choice?"

"Her parents have entrusted her to us," replied Tenzin. "She's under our care and, to be frank, she has little experience with strangers or city life."

"Which is why we need to make sure she isn't getting involved with someone undesirable," Lin finished the thought. Both brothers swallowed hard when she leaned forward and pinned them in place with her stare.

"I did a background check on both of you," she informed them. "Mako, you've been brought in on charges of shoplifting, pickpocketing, and one count of assault. Bolin, you've been accused of shoplifting and pickpocketing as well. Care to explain?"

"Ma'am, most of those charges were dropped. I've only been convicted twice - one on shoplifting, once on pickpocketing," responded Mako, bringing his chin up. "My brother has never been convicted."

"I'm aware of that, but I'd like you to explain those convictions and how you came to be charged with assault," countered Lin.

"I stole food and I pickpocketed rich tourists for money to feed me and my brother. I'm sure your records also say that our parents were murdered and we lived on the streets. I did what I had to for my brother and me," Mako said defiantly. "As for the assault, I only punched that man because he was threatening Bolin."

"I see," Lin stated.

"Why didn't you go to an orphanage rather than being homeless?" asked Tenzin as kindly as he could.

"We didn't want to get split up," murmured Bolin.

"Bolin was all the family I had left, I wasn't going to lose him too," declared Mako.

"I can understand that," said Tenzin. "I'm told you live in an apartment within the Probending Arena?"

"Yes, we do," replied Mako.

"I presume you practice there?" Tenzin asked.

"Yes," said Mako.

"Korra has other obligations to fulfill. If I allow her to be on your team, your practices can't interfere with those obligations," Tenzin informed the brothers. "When do you practice?"

"Every day at ten o'clock for two hours. Whenever else we can," answered Mako.

"The standing practice should be workable. We'll have to negotiate anything else," Tenzin said. To Lin, he asked, "Any more questions?"

"Just one. A simple yes or no." She fixed her gaze on Mako first. "Is there anything you're not telling us? Anything at all which we ought to know, but you might not want to tell us?"

After thinking for several seconds, Mako shook his head. He stated, "No, ma'am."

"Bolin?" Lin turned to the younger brother.

"No, ma'am," Bolin said quickly.

"Okay." She warned, "If I find out otherwise, or if you've lied to us, you won't like the consequences. Same goes if you bring any harm to Korra. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused, sufficiently frightened for Lin to smirk and recline in her seat. Tenzin sighed at his wife's antics.

"Dishes are done," said Akira as the rest of the teenagers walked into the room.

"That was fast," remarked Lin.

"Airbenders, a Waterbender, dishes are easy-peasy now," said Rohan. "Korra can just -" He made scrubbing motions in midair. " - We blast them and put them away and we're done."

"Rohan, Korra, why don't you take our guests to meet Naga and Dragon?" suggested Tenzin.

"But have you -" Korra started.

"Not yet," interpreted Tenzin. "While you're doing that, Lin and I will discuss it and make a decision."

Korra and Rohan escorted Mako and Bolin to the sky bison stables. Lin and Tenzin withdrew to his office.

* * *

"She's your student, Tez. Your decision."

"I know, but I want your input. If you think they're unsuitable, or a danger..."

"They're not the sort of people I pictured Korra making friends with. On the other hand, they were telling the truth tonight. From what the officers who know them say, they're not bad kids. They've been lookouts for a Triad or pickpocketed tourists but as a matter of survival. They were never involved in anything serious."

"That's good to hear."

"The older one's cocky. Protective though; he answered the hard questions before his brother had to and I've seen their matches - if he thinks Bolin is under attack, he'll mock their opponents or blast fire at the other team to get their attention on him instead."

"It sounded like he's been protecting his brother since their parents died."

"I suspect so. As for the younger boy, he seems pretty harmless if a bit naive."

"Do you think we should allow Korra to join the team?"

"Do you really think it will help her?"

"It has already. I hope it can do more. She might need the outlet."

"What happens when she is announced as the Avatar? The press is going to have a field day as it is. Add on her being involved in Pro-bending..."

"We can plan for that. We have a little while."

"Hmm."

"We'll manage. She'll manage."

"Can the Avatar even compete in Pro-bending?"

"I checked -"

"Of course you did."

"And nothing in the rules says she can't. Is that a yes?"

"Yes, as long as we keep an eye on them."

Tenzin nodded. "Let's go tell them the good news."

* * *

"I can?" squeaked Korra when everyone had rendezvoused in the family room.

"Yes, you may," repeated Tenzin. "You can join their regular practice tomorrow."

"Thank you!"

"Thank you, sir," said Mako, not quite managing to hide his own relieved smile.

"Yes, thank you very very much," piped up Bolin. "Thanks for dinner too. It was delicious!"

"You're welcome," Tenzin responded. "If you're ready, Korra can walk you down to the ferry as it's waiting for you."

"Actually, I promised them a ride back on Dragon," interjected Rohan. "I ran down and told Acolyte Terza we didn't need the ferry."

"Very well." Addressing the brothers, Tenzin said, "Mako, Bolin, thank you for coming."

"Thank you, sir," said Mako earnestly. "You don't know how much this means to us." Bolin nodded vigorously.

"Goodnight, and have a pleasant flight home," said Tenzin. Rohan escorted the brothers and Korra from the room.

One exhilarating sky bison flight later, Rohan deposited Bolin and Mako on the arena's causeway. Waving and shouting goodbye, he and Korra soared back towards Air Temple Island.

As they climbed the stairs to their apartment, Bolin grinned and declared, "See, I told you. Everything went fine. Nothing to be afraid of. We've got our Waterbender, we're still in the running, it's all good."

"I'm glad it worked out," replied Mako.

"Kinda amazing though isn't it? Us dining on Air Temple Island with Councilman Tenzin and Chief Beifong and real Airbenders? Who'd have thought?"

Mako reminded Bolin, "Korra's on the team. That's the important thing."

"I know. I know. But still - pretty good for a couple of street kids."

Mako rolled his eyes but didn't disagree. 


End file.
